Theo Ratliff was supposed to be some insurance for the Lakers, a veteran big man they could use a few minutes a game until Andrew Bynum returned, a guy who could get rebounds and body up (read: foul) opposing bigs in some matchups.

But not for the next month or so.

Ratliff had his knee scoped out Tuesday and will be sidelined for the next month to six weeks, according to the team.

Bynum is a few weeks away still (they hope he starts working out on the court in the next week or so). So this means more minutes for Lamar Odom and his sore foot. It’s going to mean rookie Derrick Caracter is going to get more burn — he has acquitted himself pretty well in the 5.6 minutes per game he has gotten, but with a lot of rookie mistakes, especially on defense.